Just stamping

Branka's final challenge for April at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown is a technique - Stamping.

This is a great challenge and opens up so many options. I wanted to make a card with just stamping on it. I've been watching Lavinia Stamp videos recently, and did a workshop with Angela Simpson last weekend using Lavinia stamps and techniques, so they influenced these cards a lot.

For my background, I used a leaf shaped stamp from Clarity, and stamped in shades of yellow and green distress ink. I started with lighter yellows in the centre and got darker towards the outside. I repeat stamped until I had a full coverage.

I then overstamped in the same inks. I took two routes, to compare. One background I used other leaf stamps, one I used script and swirls for a less realistic look. I definitely preferred the latter!

My focal point is this lovely deer from Clarity, stamped in potting soil brown archival on one and gothic purple stazon on the other.

I then added the foliage. The trailing ivy stamp is from Lavinia, as are the mushrooms. The other foliage stamps are an unbranded set I got secondhand. I used distress oxides in more natural shades on the leafy one, and archival in blue tones on the script one. For the shadow to ground the deer, I used the script stamp.

I edged the cards in archival, in brown/blue.

They were lovely at this point, but not that Christmassy! The holly on the deer and ivy were not enough to make them festive. So I had to add a sentiment. I heat embossed to help them stand out, although I wanted them to blend in a bit. This sort of worked - they show up or disappear depending on the angle.

This was my second choice background, so became my trial card. The oxides are a bit dull, the foliage at the bottom a bit messy, and the sentiment placement doesn't work too well. All lessons learned!

Which is not to say that I don't like the card, I think it's very pretty and like the light in the centre.

But I am much happier with this version. The archival inks are more luminous, and I used less realistic colours which give a more mystical feel. The foliage is less busy, and the sentiment on the left is more balanced.

So I'm very pleased with this! And all done with just stamping (and a bit of heat embossing!)

I hope this has inspired you to have a go. For more inspiration check out the other DT cards at the 52CCT blog, then the link to share your card is at the bottom.

The challenge is open for a week, until Friday 30th April.

Happy crafting x

Gel plate sleigh play

Branka's theme choice at the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown is Winter Sledges.

This includes sleighs - which gives me a chance to dig out a lovely stamp from one of the first sets I ever got!

And to play with my gel plate!

This print owes a lot to what was already on the plate from last time. I added heather, light blue and white paint, and used a variety of things to add pattern into the paint - one texture plate then the rest was packaging and waste.

When the paint dried on the plate, I then used white paint to reactivate and lift the print.

For the stars, I sponged red paint onto the gel plate through an IndigoBlu stencil, then lifted them onto the print.

Once I'd cut the print to size, I put it into the stamp platform with the stamp. I sponged paint onto parts the stamp, different colours (teale, purple, green, red), restamping until I had a reaonable impression. I also added a bit of black ink for definition.

The sentiment was stamped with the same black.

I then went in with pencils and drawing pens. I added definition to parts of the sentiment and sleigh, and brought out the presents. Doodles and dots grounded the sleigh and added detail and interest. Basically, I played with it until I was happy!

 

 

I love the finish the gel plate gives with paint, really textured and multilayered. This is such a fun card to me!

 

 

 

 

 

To join in with this super challenge, visit us at the 52CCT blog, where you can see the inspiration from my design team colleagues.

Entries close in a week, on Friday 23rd April.

I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Silver, silver, silver

Branka's colour challenge at the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown this week is Silver and White.

My first thought was to make something delicate and pretty with silver embossing, and dry embossing on white. And I'm sure we'll have some beautiful cards like that. But I wasn't in that kind of mood, I wanted to make something more grungy.

I started with super smooth white watercolour paper, and silver mica powder. I wetted the paper, mixed the powder with water, and painted and splattered it onto the card.

I used the one on the right as my background, and the other for die cutting.

I cut the background down, and die cut a zig zag edge.

I then overstamped the background with silver pigment ink and a few different stamps. 

The right side was a bit plain/dark, so I stamped and heat embossed with silver powder.

From the other mica powder piece, I die cut a circle, and the Noel shape and some snowflakes. I stamped parts of the circle with the silver ink.

I heat embossed a spare piece of card with my sentiment, then painted the edges with mica powder.

To mount, I cut a piece of white card and edged with silver embossing powder.

There was a lot of fiddling and rearranging before I got to a composition I was happy with!

 

I'm really pleased with how this has turned out. I didn't know if I'd be able to get this much variety and interest just using silver, but I think that with the different products and techniques, I have.

I hope this has inspired you to play! To join in with your take on silver and white Christmas cards, pop over to the 52CCT blog. The challenge is open for a week, to Friday 16th April.

Inky tree

Branka is hosting the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown for April. This is the sketch she has chosen:

I got out my gel plate and distress oxides for this one, and used them with some snowflake stamps. However, it was the waste where I cleaned the brayer and stamp that I ended up using for this card.

I used one of the other prints to die cut the tree, and then contrasting scraps for the stars - and a bit of centura pearl.

I stamped the sentiment in chipped sapphire, to match the background. And sponged it around the edge of the card, and the tree.

 

This isn't my favourite card ever, it lacks contrast. Maybe I'll go back and change it up some time!

To play with this sketch yourself, head over to the 52CCT blog. You'll find the inspiration from the rest of the design team. The challenge is open for a week, you have until Friday 9th April to enter.

A fun wood technique

Goga's stash challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown is to use a Wood Background.

I'm posting really late as it's been a tough week. But this was an opportunity to use a technique I've had my eye on for ages. I had a session making loads of backgrounds, and I really wanted to use at least one of them! The link to the video of this gel plate and paint technique is here.

Here are a couple of the backgrounds, in natural colours for this challenge. I also made some in brighter colours.

After cutting to size, I stamped snowflakes around the edge and in a band across the middle, and heat embossed in white. I die cut a bauble from one of the other backgrounds and backed with centura pearl. I also stamped the sentiment onto a piece of the centura pearl. Once put together, I went around the bauble and sentiment with a white stabilo all pencil to help them stand out.

 

I love the rustic feel of this card! And the snowflakes are very pretty.

 

 

 

You can see more on the 52CCT blog. The challenge closes in a few hours so this isn't a great way of inspiring you to join in! But I really wanted to use these gorgeous backgrounds!